I was really only invested in the love triangle. I did not think the flashback relationships were necessary and just cluttered the story.

First thank you to Atria books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Synopsis: Daphne has a secret. Whenever she starts a relationship with someone, she gets a piece of paper with the timeframe it will last. However the paper for her current relationship does not have a timeframe on it, just a name.

What I liked: I love the magical realism in Rebecca Serles books and this book does not disappoint. This book was such a sweet story. Daphne has a sweet side to her and love how her story is told through the relationships she had. She has a close relationship with her family. She meets Jake and finds that it doesn’t have a time period. This causes her to wonder if that means forever. Jake is a great guy but she also has her ex boyfriend turned friend Hugo. Hugo reminds me of the player with a soft side. No spoilers but really enjoyed the story and the layers that it had. It also made me think which is also an added bonus.

I will recommend this book to others as a live story with some added depth.

4.5 stars

An unexpected delight, this book did not go the way I thought it was going to and that makes me love it even more. Total surprise!

Daphne has been receiving notes since she was a teen. A name and a date. The notes correlate to her relationships, which always have an expiration date. When she receives a note with a name only, she wonders if this is finally the man she's meant to spend the rest of her life with. Told from both present day and the past, the author asks the question does having an expiration date affect the outcome or were all these meant to come to an end?

Daphne was a different heroine than I'm used to. She was very straightforward, not one to play games or beat around the bush and her honesty and candor were refreshing. I enjoyed the supporting cast of characters and felt like they added to the story and made it more. I was totally blown away by Daphne's secret(s) and when I realized where the story was going I felt stupid for missing it but felt like the author did a good job of disguising what was to come.

Really enjoyed it and will definitely read this author again!

I always enjoy the journey Rebecca Serle takes me on and the elements of magical realism in her books. However, this one left me wanting a little more than what I got...why no explanation for the notes? I also felt the twist (is that what you would call it?) kind of came out of nowhere and made me feel like I was reading a different book. When all was said and done I did still enjoy the ride - this one probably won't go down as my favorite of hers but I will certainly read whatever comes next!

I was grateful to read an ARC of Serle's latest book. I recommend it and, despite some tears, enjoyed the character development and was rooting for them!

Love some magical realism! Daphne is blessed/cursed to receive a note at the beginning of each relationship indicating how long it will last. The premise of the book drew me in. The story and split timelines were fine, both stellar but interesting enough. My biggest complaint was in the characters. I didn’t love Daphne and couldn’t see the appeal in either Jake or Hugo. This is not a bad book by any stretch but I didn’t feel particularly invested in the story. I loved the chronic illness rep but it felt “thrown in” to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC!

1.5 stars.

When I first read the blurb, the idea of the magical papers was what drew me in. However, I don't think this idea is carried out well at all. This book frustrated me to no end.

I was hoping there would eventually be some kind of explanation to why she was getting the notes, especially since random people sometimes handed them to her. However, we get no explanation to the magical realism that comes with the papers and we also don't get much information on how Daphne feels about it. Does she want to be in relationships? Does she try to outlast the time written on the papers? There's a lot about this book that did not make sense and it didn't help that the characters were so flat, so boring.

It was quite confusing between chapters at times because the character jumps between her present relationship with Jake (who deserved better) and her past relationship with Hugo and it was very jarring at times. Also, considering how the characters are all flat and have no uniqueness to them, it was hard to differentiate and it was frustrating with the chapters bouncing around like that. This book felt like it was just about her dating history but there is no character development or depth to it. Even after finishing the book, I still don't know much about any of the characters. With all the relationships that we go through, they honestly seemed quite random.

Daphne was an incredibly frustrating character. She was kind of self destructive about her relationships and she solely relied on the papers, despite what she claimed, and I still wonder why. It would have helped to know more about her relationships and why they didn't work out, or even what they were like, but the author just summarizes everything for both the past and present relationships. Her actions towards the end was entirely predictable and though there was one tiny twist with Hugo, I knew what direction this book was going. I still don't know what the point of the notes was and who/what was sending them to her and the whole aspect of this was poorly done.

3.5 stars, rounding down

I really enjoyed two Serle's other books, In Five Years and One Italian Summer. This book, Expiration Dates, is true to Serle's style and I believe that most people who also enjoyed her other books will enjoy this one, however this was not my favorite (In Five Years holds that title).

This was surprising, adoring and heartwarming. The concept of the main character getting to know just how long any of her relationships will last is really interesting. I especially liked the plot twist at the end and was not expecting that.

While I liked the concept, I thought the characters felt a little flat. I feel like I didn't get a lot of chances to really know and like the men she dated, even Jake and Hugo. Not enough to really ship any one guy over another. And I usually like books in alternate timelines but the back and forth through me a bit.

In the end, I still enjoyed this and it was overall a quick and enjoyable read, but I didn't feel as moved as I usually do at the end of a Serle novel.

This was a good quick read. It was very well written and I really enjoyed it! The only thing was I guessed the plot and that made me so sad! But overall it was a great book that I would recommend!

Expiration Dates has an interesting concept behind it. Daphne receives mysterious notes with names and time frames on them - from which she realizes - is the time frame she will date this specific man.
The dual time frame of this book is sometimes difficult to keep up with (hopefully in the final version of this book each chapter will have a title with the date on it to help the reader keep better track of the dates).

I’ll be honest - I liked the story, but this was not a home run for me. Without giving anything away - there was just something I didn’t love about Daphne and her best friend Hugo which kept me from giving this more than three stars. Though I am sure I am in the minority here.

I really loved the idea of this book but I kept waiting for more to happen, in every aspect. I really enjoy this author so I was a little bummed that this book didn’t measure up to the others. I would have liked more chemistry and I just didn’t care for the main character.

Thank you to Atria for a Netgalley of this one.

This was a slow burn but not even a slow burn? Nothing really happens and we're all just waiting for Daphne to give up on the "perfect" guy in the name of finding someone else.

We don't get any answers as to the cards or even that much detail on many of the other cards she was given. The twist in the middle seemed rushed and like a way to explain away her two bigger relationships.

Overall I feel like character development was lacking and the stories could have been more fleshed out. I normally love Rebecca Serle and have found her other books to be full of emotion but this one is nowhere near her earlier books.

Since the 5th grade, whenever Daphne starts to date a new man, she receives a piece of paper with his name and the amount of time they'll be dating. When she is set up on a blind date by one of her friends, her paper only has his name - Jake. Does this mean she's finally about to meet the one? He starts the date by showing up late. Daphne decides it isn't the worst thing and continues this trend of moving forward in the relationship and letting things go that she normally would decide are deal breakers since she finally doesn't have an expiration date.

I was a little surprised that the first chapter starts with Jake's paper as I had expected that we would work our way up to him. Instead, we have flashbacks of Daphne's life and the men she dated at the time, which really worked for unraveling who Daphne is and how she became that person. Some men are in her life for one night, some are there for years. Sometimes she ends it; sometimes they do. But she never gives herself fully since she knows how long they'll be together. She is finally able to do that with Jake and experience the uncertainty of most relationships. I loved Daphne and learning about her as her story unraveled. There are several twists in the story that made me understand why it started the way it did. I really enjoyed her relationships with her parents and her ex turned bestie Hugo. The book wasn't what I was expecting based on the description, but it was so much better!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

Coming to a bookstore near you on March 19 2024! Rebecca Serle is a favorite of mine!! I went into this book blind, only knowing I loved her work in the past. I was gifted this book through NetGalley! This novel didn’t disappoint! Daphne was a well rounded main character, you could feel what she felt throughout the book. No spoilers here, except that the book eventually ends but you’ll want more of Daphnes story! #NetGalley #RebeccaSerle #March192024 #YouNeedThisBook #ExpirationDates #Daphne #PleaseWriteMore #bookstagram #booklover #takesmetoanotherworld #lovedit #FiveStars

This was extremely well written. I like how she got her own happy ending in a different way. I liked the nature of bringing up her old relationships. I would have been interested in hearing more about her longer relationship from college.

A quick, engaging romance mixed with some magic realism made for a book I really enjoyed! I was immersed in this story right away, as the premise was unique. There were a couple of twists thrown in that totally caught me off guard, but added to the storyline.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the chance to review this book in return for my honest review!

I really enjoyed this book. It was not what I was expected, but in the best possible way. Rebecca Serle did it again in her best book so far. I loved Daphne and only wanted the best for her. This was a romance, but it was so much more too. Daphne had to do the work to find herself and what she wanted out of life.

Throughout this book, you read about Daphne’s dating history and how she magically finds a piece of paper that tells her how long her relationships will last for. Daphne just wants to find the love of her life who will love her even though she has a heart condition that can shorten her life.

Will Daphne find her one true love?

I thought this was a very creative romance book and while some of the relationships were short, you learn more about Daphne. I enjoyed reading about Daphne’s relationship with her parents, her best friend Hugo, and her coworkers. I couldn’t put this book down as it was fast pace and I was curious who and if Daphne ends up with.

Thank you to Atria for a Netgalley of this one.

Ok. I absolutely loved the premise. I did not love all of the pieces though. I did not love our main character. Even when we hit the emotional twist Serle always delivers, I kept waiting for more and more to happen with that..... nothing did. I felt the Daphne was actually quite flat as a character and her chemistry with anyone in the book was meh at best.

By the end of Serle's books, I am usually a blubbering mess. This one just did not hit like that for me.

Four stars for Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle. I always love a romance with a bit of magical realism, and Rebecca Serle is one of the best authors to deliver on this genre. Her stories go deeper to ponder questions about what comprises a life well lived. This story is no exception - does Daphne make choices because she is forced into a pre-destined outcome, or does her expectation of a pre-destined outcome inhibit her choices?

I loved the flashbacks to Daphne’s previous relationships, and while I wish they had been told chronologically, I understand the desire to hold back information from the reader. Ultimately, I would have liked a deeper dive into one defining relationship, but I enjoyed the overall story and the questions it posed.